Michele Sganga

I was born in 1978 and am based in Rome, Italy. I have a formal academic education as a pianist and composer. However, from the very beginning of my career, I have cultivated a strong interest in creative collaborations, working with artists from different disciplines and experimenting with various musical genres.

My repertoire as a pianist ranges from Bach to contemporary music, with a predilection for Chopin and Liszt. As a composer, I have written—and continue to write—music for theater, cinema, television, and chamber music for voice and various instruments.

I earned my piano degree with honors from the Santa Cecilia Conservatoire in Rome, where I also studied Composition. Afterwards, I attended post-graduate courses and received prizes and awards in national and international competitions, such as first prizes at 'Don Matteo Colucci' in Fasano; 'Harmonie' in Rome; 'Città di Barletta'; and 'Città di Caserta'.

In recent years, I have focused my work on soundtracks, including the documentary 'Il testimone passato' (Witness of the Past, Rai Storia, 2015), the theater play 'La casta morta' (The Dead Caste, Patas Arriba Teatro, 2015), and the ballet 'Anamoni' (Compagnia Matroos, 2017). In 2018, Sinfonica Edizioni published my 'Biologie per chitarra' (Biologie for Guitar), and in 2019, I composed an original soundtrack for Guazzoni's silent movie 'Cajus Julius Caesar,' commissioned by University College London. In 2020, I composed tracks for the movie 'Extraliscio. Punk da Balera,' presented at the 79th Venice International Film Festival.

The year 2022 was very eventful, leading me, among other things, to release two albums: 'Magnificat - Cantata per Soprano e Pianoforte' (Magnificat - A Cantata for Soprano and Piano, Lumi Edizioni Musicali, 2022) with Sara Della Porta, and 'Il sorriso di Cassandra' (Cassandra's Smile, Lumi Edizioni Musicali, 2023), the original soundtrack of the video-documentary dedicated to Pier Paolo Pasolini.

I graduated in History of Music from the Sapienza University of Rome, and I have several publications on Chopin, Rossini, Nono, and Tarkovsky, as well as popular texts on opera.

I am also the founder of Lumi Edizioni Musicali, an independent publishing house and record label that aims to give visibility to independent and innovative musicians from around the world.